Mystery Science Theater 3000: Crash & Recovery
by WayWardWonderer
Summary: Joel Robinson catches a news story about a satellite falling out of orbit and crashing in Minnesota. Mike Nelson, Crow, Tom Servo, Gypsy and Cambot; still trapped aboard the Satellite of Love, are in fact the falling satellite. Joel makes his way to the scene of the crash to rescue his friends and elude 'Gizmonic Institute' authorities. No theatre here! (all MST3k crew present)
1. Crash

Joel Robinson, famous author and freshly retired manager of the Osseo 'Hot Fish Shop', was relaxing on his couch with his laptop and a soda when the television flashed a breaking news bulletin.

 _'This just in: It's been reported that unknown an object; most likely a meteor or perhaps even an unoccupied satellite has fallen from its orbit and has crash landed just within the 'Elm Creek Park Reserve'_.

"Satellite?" He hadn't been paying attention until that key word was uttered. Joel closed his laptop and focused on the news report. "It couldn't be... could it?"

 _'Witnesses to the object falling from orbit claimed that it was a metallic object that was burning as it entered the Earth's atmosphere. The object was also described as very large and shaped like a bone_.'

"No way..." Joel was transfixed on the story.

 _'Several of the witnesses have sketched a crude, possible design for this unknown downed object._ '

The screen displayed severally hastily drawn but very similar designs of the reported falling object. All of the sketches depicted a long metal object in the shape of the ever cliché doggy chew toy bone.

"Oh my... That's the Satellite of Love!" Joel shot to his feet feeling horrified and concerned for the five passengers aboard the downed craft. Joel was the only person who knew and c _ared_ that the satellite was in fact occupied, and that there were five lives trapped aboard the burning wreckage.

'Officials are rushing to the scene to extinguish the flames before the nature reserve sustains serious damage. We will continue to update this story as it unfolds.'

Moving quickly Joel grabbed his keys and rushed out the front door. As he climbed into his car he turned on the radio to locate the breaking news story to keep himself up to date on the events as he drove to the nature reserve.

"Hang on guys, I'll find you!"

* * *

 _Just Minutes Ago, Onboard the Satellite of Love..._

Now with their final film, ' _Diabolik_ ' nothing more than horrible memory, Michael J. Nelson, Tom Servo, Crow T. Robot, Gypsy and Cambot were standing idle on the bridge of the falling Satellite of Love. The lights were flashing and the warning alarms were sound off at maximum volume.

Without any means of controlling the ship's descent Tom had taken ahold of the steering wheel which was illogically attached the desk on the bridge.

Mike stood idle next to Tom as calmly as possible.

"Tom, what's our situation?"

"Beginning reentry Mike!" Tom yelled over the blaring alarms and explosions that were only beginning to rock the ship to and fro.

"Good..."

A massive explosion shook the entire ship with a single deafening blast.

Tom updated the crew. "Total heatshield failure, Mike!"

"Bad..." Mike corrected his earlier statement. "What's going on?!" His calm demeanor transitioning into rightful panic.

Another massive explosion and crash shook the ship violently.

Tom informed the crew on the situation. "Deck 3: Broken away!"

Another explosion.

"Deck 4: Broken away!"

Yet another violent explosion.

Mike was losing his cool entirely. "Cambot! Give me 'Rocket Number Nine'!"

Cambot brought up the requested video feed.

The 'Satellite of Love' was falling in an uncontrollable descent. The force of the Earth's gravitational pull began damaging and destroying the ship, piece by piece.

From inside the ship the crew could feel every explosion, every tremor, every piece of the ship breaking away and disintegrating as it entered the Earth's atmosphere.

Tom continued to update the rest of the crew on the ship's condition. "Deck 5: Broken away! Deck 6: Broken away! Deck 7: Melting! And... Broken away!"

Mike didn't know how to handle such a dire situation and his shaking voice made it evident. "Gypsy! What do we do?!"

Gypsy, who had been keeping to herself on the edge of the bridge stood at Mike's side. "We burn up horribly! It's too terrible to contemplate, oh God in Heaven, please have mercy on our souls!"

Mike had one last, desperate idea. "I'll call Pearl!" He frantically pressed the button to make contact with Castle Forrester as a pipe on the bridge ruptured and began filling the bridge with an unknown gas that quickly engulfed the crew.

Tom called out through the thick gaseous cloud. "Uh-oh! Toxic gas entering our lungs and nasal passages!"

Mike yelled over the blaring alarms and coughing fits around him. "Pearl?!"

A display of the recently vacated Castle Forrester appeared on the monitor. Pearl, along with her two lackeys Professor BoBo and Brain Guy, were standing side by side near the far wall of the large room.

Pearl was not happy as she issued her final order to her minions. "Now, sing damn it, SING!"

Moving in unison the trio moved toward the door in synchronized step as they sang. "It's a long way to Tipperary..."

Pearl noticed Mike had made contact and could see the foggy interior of the ship on her monitor. As she approached the monitor BoBo and Brain Guy saw their opportunity to escape the castle without Pearl noticing. Picking up the large power cable Pearl gave her final words to the doomed ship crew. "Look, Nelson, move on. I am." With a single motion she pulled the plug from its source and the screen went perpetually black.

The crew began screaming in fear and panic as the satellite continued falling further into the Earth's atmosphere, the exterior of the ship slowly heating and disintegrating as Earth's strong gravity took its toll on the old, damaged vessel.

Another loud explosion, louder than any other before it, sent a powerful tremor through the entirety of the ship.

Tom continued to update the crew. "Whoa! Deck 9: Broken THROUGH DECKS 10 AND 11!"

Gypsy started screaming. "This is it! We're going DOWN!"

Tom shouted over her. "Brace for impact!"

Mike gave into his fear and yelled in panic. "We're all GOING TO DIE!"

Crow, who had been uncharacteristically quiet and absent suddenly appeared on the bridge in front of the desk. "Mike? Have you seen my other sweater?!"

The former, reluctant crew of the Satellite of Love: Mike, Crow, Servo, Gypsy and Cambot all screamed in terror as the satellite fell from the stars and into the blue sky of Earth.

Acrid, thick smoke obscured their vision as they all desperately clung to the desk and each other as they braced for the final impact.

An impact that was sure to kill them.

 _ **...to be continued...**_


	2. Search

It was easy to see the smoky, smoldering impact site from the fallen satellite from the road. A small blaze glowing through the thick trees pinpointed the exact location of the downed satellite. Many fire trucks, police cars and helicopters created a perimeter around the scene of the crash. A large helicopter circled over the nature preserve, its spinning blades causing the thick, black smoke to disperse into small wisps.

Joel Robinson drove to the nature preserve, his eyes on the billowing smoke and his ear to the radio as the story continued to be updated.

 _'Officials state that the downed object in fact a satellite, one that does belong to the United States. Cause for its crash are still unknown at this time as fire fighters are still attempting to control the blaze. Salvage operations are expected to take place tomorrow morning_.'

"Aw man," Joel took a breath to try and calm his nerves. "I hope you guys are okay. And aren't flammable."

Joel was casually waved down and stopped by a highway patrolman. The patrolman approached the car and motioned for Joel to open his window. "Sorry sir, this road is closed. You'll have to turn back."

"Yeah, sure." Joel replied as he rolled down his window. "But, uh, what's going on?"

"You didn't hear?"

"That explosion?" Joel jested.

The patrolman didn't laugh.

Clearing his throat nervously Joel began again with a smile. "I mean, I know it's a downed satellite; _at least according to the news_!" Joel tried to sound skeptical and he wasn't sure why. "But what's going on out here?"

The patrolman rubbed at his chin as he studied Joel's laidback demeanor. "We're trying to keep the fire from spreading and we need this road for equipment transport. You'll have to turn back."

"Right..." Joel noticed a small side road in his rearview mirror. "Where does that road lead?"

"To the lake and nothing much else."

"Okay, thanks. I'll be on my way, then." Joel rolled up his window and backed up, taking the small back road in favor of the main road. "It'll be easier to get in and out without the car..."

The radio continued the report on the story: _'It's been reported that the downed satellite may in fact be the same satellite that was reported missing from the enigmatic Gizmonic Institute several years ago._ '

Joel swallowed nervously as he pulled to the side of the isolated road and parked.

 _'Representatives from the enigmatic Institute have been called in to confirm the possible identity of the satellite. There have been no reported suspects and terrorist activity is not a plausible factor_.'

Joel switched off the radio. "But if they find Mike they'll accuse him of theft and he'll spend the rest of his life in jail!" He climbed out of his car and looked at the black smoke. "Mike couldn't survive in prison, he's too nice!"

* * *

Mike's head was pounding. The sound of the crunching metal, explosions and panicked screams were echoing in his mind. The smell of smoke, hot metal, ozone and charred wood stung his nostrils. Sirens, whirring helicopter blades, radios clicking on and off and crackling flames made his hurt that much more. Then there was the sound of coughing. His own coughing.

He fought to open his eyes, his headache was nearly unbearable and the smoke irritated his already tired eyes. Looking around Mike saw patches of blue sky peeking through the black smoke that swirled around him. "What the...?" Mike tried to lift his head but every movement caused his head to swim and spin. He put his hand up to shield his eyes. "Owie... Sky? Then we..." He looked all around him and saw that he was sitting amongst the twisted, burning wreckage of the Satellite of Love. "W-we made it?"

A large metal beam was resting across his legs and holding him down. As he made an effort to move he felt a sharp, burning pain race down his right arm and through his chest. "Gah!" Mike flinched and grabbed his injured right arm with his uninjured left hand. He felt his palm grow wet and sticky from the bleeding wound his hand had covered. Through gritted teeth he breathed rapidly, trying to endure the intense pain in his arm when he felt the same burning pain in his chest. "Bad idea..."

Coughing, which he immediately regretted with his injuries, Mike called out for his robots friends. "Crow? Servo? Gypsy? Cambot?" There was no answer. Not that he'd be able to hear anything over the surrounding ambience, anyway. "Anybody?" He felt his heart sink. "I hope they're okay..."

Struggling awkwardly Mike managed to wrest his legs free from the heavy metal weight, only to discover that his ankle was injured, too!

"GAH!" Mike fell back and laid alongside the metal debris, his whole body in absolute pain and his heart pounding out of his chest thanks to adrenaline and fear. "GUYS?!" He yelled out as loud as he could stand. "WHERE ARE YOU?! I've fallen and I can't get up!"

There was a high pitched chirp and a small rustling of leaves just outside of the smoldering crater. A shiny, dented metallic orb hovered out of the green leaves and over to Mike.

"Cambot!" Mike was relieved to see that the small, quiet robot had survived the crash. He could see that Cambot had suffered external damage to his body and that his camera lens was cracked. "You're okay?"

Cambot nodded his body up and down, 'yes'.

"Do you know where the others are?"

Cambot then shook his body from side to side, 'no'.

"I hope they're still..." Mike winced as another wave of pain hit him. "Look, you need to get out of here. It isn't safe!"

Cambot replied 'no' again.

"C'mon buddy, you need to leave before anyone sees you!"

Cambot adamantly replied with 'no'.

"You're really not going to leave me, are you?"

Another 'no'.

"Fine." Mike struggled to sit upright, his chest, arm and ankle were throbbing. "I can't move and the fire is getting intense. Before long the smoke is going to choke me out, so you need to try and find the others bots so we can all leave together, okay?"

Cambot answered with an enthusiastic 'yes'.

"Good boy. Move it!"

In a flash Cambot hovered up high and began scanning the area for any sign of the other bots. Cambot suddenly focused on something a few yards away from the crash and honed in on it.

"Cambot? What'd you find?" Mike never got an answer as Cambot disappeared into the nearby woods. "Uh, Cambot? Buddy? Cambot?" He started coughing and stars flashed before his eyes. "Ow! That hurts... Where'd you go?" Mike was all alone in the burning wreckage again, holding his aching side. "Marco? Ollie-Ollie oxen free?" No one responded and he was beginning to feel desperate. "Uh... free beer?"

Still nothing.

"Well, then that means we're _NOT_ in Wisconsin..."

 _ **...to be continued...**_


	3. Found

Mike looked around the twisted, burning wreckage for any sign of the bots but saw he was still alone. The flames were getting closer to him and he couldn't move too far or too fast with his injuries. He pulled his t-shirt up from his jumpsuit and over his nose to help keep the smoke from bothering him. Using his uninjured arm Mike himself along the debris riddled ground, and used his uninjured leg to push himself away from the flames that were quickly creeping up on him.

As Mike's hand reached a bundle of crumpled wires and beams, he felt something move under his palm. "Gah!" Mike retracted his hand. "What the hell?"

The object moved again and slowly sat itself upright. "Ouch... my head! Mike? What you do this time?"

"Crow!" Mike had never been so happy to see the golden robot in his life. "You're alive!"

"So are you." Crow commented as he rubbed at his dented and charred head. The net on the back of his head was hanging loose, and his torn, burned sweater was resting on his body in ragged tatters. "So... this is Earth? Looks... interesting."

"Well... not _all_ of it." Mike pulled himself closer to Crow. "Right now we need to get out of the satellite and away from the fire."

"Fire?!" Crow looked around. "AHH! Call the fire department!"

"They're here!" Mike yelled at Crow as he put the net back in place on Crow's head. "But they don't know we are, too!"

"Oh."

"Help me out! We need to get away from the fire and find the others."

"You mean it's just _us_? How miserable!"

"Cambot's okay, he flew off somewhere. I'm not sure why."

"Wuss!"

"Crow?!" Mike was already losing patience.

"What?"

"Help."

"What? Oh, right!" Crow noticed that Mike was banged up. "I'll find a way out!"

"Don't go too far, I don't want to lose you, too!"

"Awe..." Crow cooed playfully as he snuggled up to Mike. "I love you!"

Mike laughed as he pushed Crow away from him. "C'mon, move!"

"Right! I'll be back!" In a quick burst of speed Crow wove through the labyrinthine mess of wreckage to find an escape route.

Unable to bear the pain in his body any further, Mike decided to try and set the breaks in his arm and ankle. As soon as his hand touched the injuries he winced in pain and groaned. "Damn it..." Looking around at the bits and pieces laying all around him, Mike took a long piece of piping and set along his arm. He then took some loose wires and, poorly, tied them around his arm to finish the makeshift splint.

"Mike! Mike! Mike!" Crow came running back to the injured human. "Oh, there you are!"

Mike finished tying the wires and looked at the excited robot. "Did you find a way out?"

"Yes! AND... Servo!"

"Servo?"

"Yo!" The red robot hovered up from behind Crow and sat with Mike. Tom's dome was cracked from either the impact or the heat, one his inarticulate arms was missing and his hover skirt was dented. "There you are!"

"Where've you been?" Mike asked.

"I was wedged under the desk ,and the desk was wedged between the satellite and a big tree!"

"I'm glad you're okay."

"Wish I could say the same about you."

"Tell me about it..." Mike looked at his broken arm again. "So, that just leaves Gypsy."

From outside the ship, somewhere beyond the wall of fire they heard Gypsy's distinctive voice. "Guys? Did you call me?"

"Gypsy!" Mike happily called out. "You're okay, too!"

"Yup. Boy, you guys should really get outside of the ship. That fire is awfully big!"

Mike pulled himself upright and kneeled. "Crow, show us the way out."

"Follow me!" Crow eagerly led the way to the exit from the burning ship.

Mike limped slowly but steadily along the mangled passage that was once a high-tech and orbiting satellite that he and the bots used to call 'home'.

* * *

Joel made his way through the nature reserve, careful not cross the path of a ranger, firefighter or cop. He also wisely kept away from the clearings in case a circling helicopter spotted him while surveying the area. The thick smoke made it difficult for him to continue on at a brisk pace. The distant flickering flames acted as a beacon to guide his way to the downed satellite.

"Almost there..." He said aloud to himself, more or less to boost his own confidence and to keep the haunting ambience of the burning forest from lingering too long.

A loud, high pitched chirp caught his attention. Looking up he spotted a single hovering metallic sphere with what looked like a scope or camera lens attached to it.

"What the...?" Joel stared intently at the object trying to identify it.

The object, seemingly sensing Joel if not hearing him, hovered down to the lone human and spun around mid-air in front of him.

"Wait... Cambot?"

Cambot let out another high pitched chirp.

"That's right, you got an updated model after I left the Satellite of Love! I only caught of glimpse of you when I went back up to repair..." He trailed off. "the ship."

Cambot pressed his body against Joel's chest.

"I missed you too, buddy!" Joel wrapped his arms around the small damaged robot. "Where are the others?"

Cambot hovered from Joel's grip and turned his camera lens toward the fire.

"Still at the fire?"

Cambot nodded his body to say 'yes'.

"We better move it. Show me the way boy!"

With Cambot now acting as his guide Joel jogged after the metallic sphere glinting the afternoon sunlight and distant fire. The deeper into the reserve Joel walked the more charred the flora became. The thick air, heavy with smoke and falling ash made it difficult for Joel to breathe and see. Cambot slowed his pace to ensure that he and Joel didn't get separated in the fire.

* * *

"OUCH!" Mike whined as he reluctantly jumped from the burning satellite and landed on the hard ground below. "My leg!" He rolled onto his back and clutched at his broken ankle with his good hand.

"Oh, you big baby!" Crow commented. "My arm's broken and Servo's is completely gone, and you don't see us whining!"

"Crow..." Mike replied through gritted teeth as Tom hovered gently down and rested next to him on the grass. "You don't _feel_ pain!"

"Oh." Crow looked over at Tom. "I forgot."

"Idiot..." Tom responded flatly.

Gypsy approached her shipmates joyously. "Thank goodness you got out of there!" Gypsy's light was cracked and her jaw was hanging loose from its hinges. There were also numerous dents and holes in her black tube-like body. "Mike! You're hurt!"

"But I'm _alive_!" Mike emphasized as a means to calm her. "The only one missing now is Cambot.

"I saw Cambot fly off earlier, but I'm not sure where he went." Gypsy recalled.

"Me neither Gypsy." Mike commented and then coughed. "We need... we need to get away from the fire."

"But where?" Gypsy asked curiously.

"I don't... know." Mike confessed. "I don't think I will even be able to move, let alone-" A single bright, yellow light suddenly shined on the group of satellite occupants. "Da' hell is that?" Mike protectively put his hand up to shield his eyes.

Crow, Tom and Gypsy all froze in place and stared directly into the light.

An unknown, male voice echoing through a megaphone addressed them: "DON'T MOVE. WE HAVE YOU SURROUNDED."

 _ **...to be continued...**_


	4. Taken

Mike, Crow, Tom and Gypsy all froze in fear as the powerful, bright light shined on them. Mike shut his eyes to protect them from the light as he instinctively put his one injured hand in the air to signal surrender. The bots didn't understand what was happening to them.

"Mike?" Crow whispered to the scared human at his left. "Do you know that guy?"

"No..."

"What's with the light? Do they want you to dance, honey?"

"No!" Mike was particularly disturbed by the suggestion. "Don't move, don't say anything. Just, uh... Play dead!"

"Can do!" Crow fell limp and backward onto the ground just behind Mike.

Tom and Gypsy looked at each other briefly before following suit. They too fell limp on the ground and played dead. The robotic trio didn't make a sound as they lair behind their brave human companion.

A man in a dark gray suit and equally dark fedora stepped into the light in front of Mike. The bright light made his suit appear that much darker and it cast a shadow over the unknown man's face. A small red dot glowing from the man's jaw indicated that he was smoking a cigarette, and the distinct outline of a megaphone in his hand confirmed that he was the one who addressed Mike from behind the light.

"Can... I help you?" Mike asked confusedly through his squinted eyes.

The man took one last puff from his cigarette, the red ember brightening for a final time, before tossing it onto the ground at his feet and stamping it out. "Perhaps."

"Okay..."

"What is your name?"

"What's yours?" Mike didn't trust the strange man and rightfully so as a two armed men, soldiers, appeared at the man's side and pointed their guns at Mike.

"I repeat: What's your name?"

"It's Mike. Michael J. Nelson." Mike finally answered, his eyes adjusting to the bright light. "Can I put my hand down? It's getting tired."

The man ignored the dumb follow-up question. "Michael J. Nelson: Former temp under one Doctor Clayton Forrester. Reported missing after failing to check in with the agency and whereabouts remained permanently concealed by the same Dr. Forrester."

"Uh... correct?" Mike didn't understand what was going on. "How do you know about me?"

The man snapped his fingers and pointed at Mike. The two soldiers approached Mike and stood next to him, their guns still pointed at the injured human. One of the men turned his gun around and used the butt to crack Mike in the head just above his right eye.

Rendered unconscious Mike fell limp on the grass. Helpless, defenseless, alone.

The unknown man walked up to Mike and towered over the injured man's prone form. "Get a stretcher. We're taking him with us." He looked past Mike and noticed the three unmoving robots laying near him. "Take those 'things', too. They're evidence of this man's time in space aboard the stolen satellite as far as I'm concerned."

One of the soldiers obediently jogged off back into the forest for the stretcher, while the remaining man stayed at his post watching Mike.

"Sir? The original report indicates that another man who worked at Gizmonic Institute disappeared six and half years _before_ this man. I thought that 'Joel Robinson' was the man who supposedly stole the satellite."

The man looked up at his loyal soldier with a stoic manner. "You're a fine solider and dedicated to your work, which I greatly respect. But it's best for everyone, specifically _you_ and _your family_ , that you STOP ASKING QUESTIONS."

"Y-yes sir." The solider recognized the threat.

The first soldier returned with a stretcher under his arm and three other soldiers at his heels.

"We were never here." The unknown man, the man who was clearly in charge and calling all the shots, watched as two soldiers picked Mike's limp body off the ground and placed him on the stretcher.

The three remaining soldiers picked the three robots off the ground, unaware that the machines they were carrying were very much alive aware of everything transpiring around them.

Tom watched in silence from the soldier's arms as Mike's broken form was strapped to the stretcher. The fresh cut to Mike's forehead, courtesy of the gun, bled all over Mike's face.

Gypsy, the largest of the three robots, was uncomfortable being coiled around the stranger as he carried her from the reserve and to... whatever it was, that the soldiers were ordered.

Crow, the most outspoken of the robots, reluctantly kept his silence as he was picked up from the ground and held in an uncomfortable position. He wanted more than anything to try and fight back, but he didn't want to disobey Mike.

The unknown man watched in silence as the five soldiers carried the former occupants of the Satellite of Love out of the reserve and away from the downed satellite. From his pocket the man took a small, round, metallic object and tossed it into the flame of the burning wreckage. As he proceeded to follow his soldiers out of the reserve a massive explosion engulfed what remained of the satellite in a glorious orange fireball and mushroom cloud.

* * *

Enshrouded behind thick green, shrubbery and low hanging tree branches Joel and Cambot watched helplessly as Mike and the bots were carried away by the enigmatic man and his soldiers.

"Cambot, this is bad!" Joel whispered. "Those men work for Gizmonic Institute's private security!"

Cambot, who was damaged and running low on power, hovered down to the ground and rested his body against Joel's leg.

Joel looked down at the exhausted and damaged little bot. "Don't worry buddy. We'll get them back." He picked the spherical robot up from the ground. "I think I know where they're being taken."

 _ **...to be continued...**_


	5. Questions

With Cambot wrapped in his arms Joel carefully retraced his steps through the reserve, back to his car parked on the seldom tread side road. The hovering helicopter overhead made it difficult for Joel to move at a quick pace, if he was spotted in the reserve he could be arrested for trespassing. The smoke began to thin as Joel moved further and further away from the burning wreckage; the sirens in the distance all became quieter as Joel put more space between the responding recue personnel and himself.

"Almost there." Joel paused and crouched down by some low hanging tree branches. "How you holding up, Cambot?"

The little robot let out a low chirping noise as his power supply was dwindling at a steady rate.

"Don't worry buddy, I'll get you charged up soon. Without a constant power supply from the satellite you have to use your own resources. Which means you have to learn to conserve power. Sorry."

Satisfied that no one was around Joel emerged from the brush and jogged down the path where his car was parked. As he slipped inside behind the wheel he put Cambot down on the seat next to him and fastened the seatbelt around Cambot's spherical body. "Don't want you to roll around on the floor."

Joel started the car and put it into gear. "Now... let's go save our friends!"

* * *

Mike slowly became aware of the world around him. His head was aching, his arm, ribs and ankle were throbbing and he could sense someone uncomfortably close to his face. He opened his eyes and focused on the face of a young man, a soldier, leaning over him. It was then Mike realized that they were both in the back of some kind of ambulance or large truck. And the ambulance was moving! "What the...?"

The soldier sat back and looked down at Mike's groggy face. "You finally awake, sir?"

"'Sir'?" Mike repeated confusedly. "Where am I? Who are you?"

"Sh!" The soldier silenced Mike politely. "Don't ask questions. Questions can get a guy like you killed."

" _Killed_!?" Mike tried to sit up by a strap across his chest kept him from moving, not to mention the pain in his ribs. "What's going on?! What are you going to do to me? What did I do?!"

"SH!" The soldier shushed Mike again as he put a hand over Mike's mouth. "STOP. ASKING. QUESTIONS."

Mike reluctantly laid back cooperatively and sighed, his ribs burning with pain from the effort of moving and breathing.

The solider noticed Mike's discomfort. "You need something for the pain?"

Mike shook his head. "No." He looked down and saw that he was strapped to a stretcher, his broken arm and ankle properly set and wrapped up in splints. A large bandage was placed over the fresh cut over his eye. "It's just... What's going to happen to me? I have the right to know, you know. I am a human being AND citizen of the United States of America."

The soldier, still human and compassionate compared to the shadowy man who ordered Mike's abduction, took pity on the injured man. "You're being taken to a private facility. You're going to be questioned, probably tortured and then... _maybe_ , released."

"I don't like the sound of that..." Mike closed his eyes. "Especially the 'maybe' part. If they _don't_ release me, then what?"

"Trust me sir, you don't want to know."

"I think you're right..." Mike took in a deep breath and tried to calm his mind. But all he could do was think about the bots. "I have one last question, then I'll shut up."

The soldier looked tense but he allowed it. "Alright, what do you want to know, sir?"

"First of all, my name's not 'Sir', it's Mike. Second, what happened to the machines that were with me?"

"The machines? Do you mean the smaller devices in gold, red and purple coloration?"

"Yeah. I know they were with me when I climbed out of the wreckage, did you take them? They're, uh... kind of special to me..."

"Yes. They're also apparently evidence against you."

"Evidence of _what_?"

"I can't say, even if I did know the answer. Sorry."

"Oh..." Mike felt the ambulance slow to a stop and he heard muffled, loud voices moving around the outside of the vehicle. He also heard the distinct sound of heavy boots stomping around and guns being cocked.

The solider whispered a single, very helpful suggestion to Mike. "Play dead!"

Mike almost laughed, remembering that he had told the bots to do the exact same thing before he was taken. Shutting his eyes tight Mike let his body relax as much as possible so he appeared limp and still unconscious.

The doors on the back of the ambulance opened and the stretcher that Mike was strapped to was picked up and lowered down to the ground. Fighting the temptation to look Mike kept his eyes closed as he felt himself being carried from the ambulance and into some kind of building.

The two soldiers carrying the stretcher stopped at the doorway to verify their clearance. "Level 7 clearance: confirmed. Proceed."

 _'Level seven clearance_?' Mike thought to himself. _'Where am I now_?'

 _ **...to be continued...**_


	6. Trapped

It was getting dark. The sun had set and with the fiery wreckage now lost in the distance, Joel was seemingly alone as he drove down the isolated road. Alone except for Cambot of course. The little bot was quiet and still.

Clicking on the radio Joel listened to the latest updates on the satellite's crash. _'Officials have doused the flames and have confirmed that the downed craft is in fact an unmanned satellite. There have been no reported causalities and the cause of the satellite's orbital failure has been attributed to faulty equipment_.'

Joel heard enough and turned the radio back off. "Liars! Gizmonic Institute is full of them." He noted the time on the radio digital display. "It'll be another hour before we get to where we need to go. Think you can hang on a little longer, Cambot?"

Cambot let out another low chirping sound as he nodded his body back and forth.

"Good man. I knew I could always count on you, buddy!"

* * *

Still playing dead Mike listened carefully as he was carried through the secured building. He could hear the footsteps of the escorting soldiers marching beside his stretcher. There was an ambience of large industrial computers and other machines humming and beeping in various tones.

"Take him to cell six." That voice belonged to the enigmatic man in the dark suit. He was still issuing orders.

"Yes, sir."

The soldiers carried the stretcher to the ordered location and laid it on the floor inside the cell. Carefully two soldiers picked Mike up from the stretcher and laid him out on the nearby, uncomfortable cot.

"Leave him." The dark suited man barked from the doorway.

Without a word the two soldiers obeyed and left the cell. Heavy boots marched away down the hall while a pair of heels made their way up the hall, passing by the soldiers.

"Sir?" A female voice addressed the dark suited man. "Shall I begin the exam?"

"Proceed."

"I will require privacy, if you don't mind."

Mike could feel the impatient anger as the dark suited man left the cell. "Be quick about it Dr. Jones."

"Like always."

The door to the cell shut and Dr. Jones picked up Mike's wrist to check his pulse.

Feeling safe for the first time since the satellite crashed, Mike opened his eyes and looked into the lovely face of the young dark haired doctor leaning over him. "Will you help me?"

* * *

Tom Servo, Crow and Gypsy were placed in large, unlabeled footlockers after being carried away from the crash. Inside the large boxes the three bots were able to listen to the bizarre sounds and angry voices all around them.

"Is this the 'evidence'?" The dark suited man inquired hastily.

"Yes, sir."

"Take it to storage room 51. No one, I repeat: 'NO ONE' is to enter the storage room without a security escort. Understand?"

"Yes, sir."

The three bots, trapped in their own box, were rocked back and forth violently as the soldiers carried them to the storage room. Being externally damaged from the crash made it all the more uncomfortable for the three robots as they bumped against the sides in an uncontrollable manner.

"Ouch, ouch, ouch..." Crow repeated to himself in an irritated manner as his head banged against the walls of the box.

"Ow, ow, ow..." Tom was in the throes of his own pain mantra as well.

Gypsy, who was far too big to move around much at all in her box, just sat in silence as she waited for her mysterious journey to finally end.

The movement suddenly stopped as the boxes were set down on the floor.

The soldiers walked back to the door together. "So, what's in the boxes?"

"Beats me. Nothing cool."

"Hey, do you remember the ending scene from _'Raiders of the Lost Ark'_?"

The door shut behind the talking soldiers. The sound of the door being locked and the bolt fastening was loud, even through the thick casing of the footlockers.

Crow waited a few seconds before speaking up. "Servo? Gypsy? You there?"

"Yeah, I'm here Crow." Tom answered cautiously.

"Yup!" Gypsy answered with a little more enthusiasm.

"SHHH!" The bots angrily shushed their companion.

"Gypsy! Be quiet!" Crow angrily whispered. "Mike said to play dead!"

"Sorry..."

Tom had an interesting question. "Hey, Crow, where is Mike anyway?"

"I don't know. Last I saw two guys playing _'Forest Gump'_ were carrying him away."

"Great. What do we do now?"

"I don't know. I don't even know where we are!"

Gypsy spoke up again. "Storage room 51."

"We know _that_! But we don't where we are on _Earth_!"

"Oh..."

Tom had another interesting thought. "If this IS Earth..."

"It IS, bubble-head!"

"Pin-beak!"

"Dickweed!"

"Goldilocks!"

"Crow, Servo, stop fighting!" Gypsy intervened.

"Sorry..." The two bots apologized in unison.

"We have to find a way out of here."

"Right!" Crow agreed as he pressed his claws against the lid of his box. "Can you get your box open?"

"I can try." Gypsy pressed her head against the interior of the lid and started pushing up with all her might.

* * *

Dr. Jones was finishing up with Mike's treatment. She sat on the edge of his cot and carefully rebandaged his head. "There. All your vitals signs are normal, and you're in peak health. You know, aside from the break in your humerus, two ribs, ankle and the seven stitches in your forehead." She grinned kindly at her blonde patient.

"Yeah, thanks." Mike sighed and folded his good arm under his head like a pillow. "Hate to call in sick when the torture starts."

Dr. Jones let her grin fade. "I take it you spoke with Robby."

"Who's Robby?"

She laughed a little. "The only human left in Mr. White's private goon squadron."

"Mr. White?"

She laughed again. "The man who ordered your abduction."

"The man in black is named Mr. White?" Mike was genuinely confused. "Does he think he's fooling anyone?"

Dr. Jones laughed harder. "No! Of course not. He just doesn't appreciate irony."

Mike laughed a little this time. "You know, you never answered my question."

"What was that?"

"Will you help me?"

Dr. Jones looked away from Mike as she stood up from the cot and knocked on the cell door. "I'm sorry. I can't."

The door opened and she slipped through, leaving Mike alone in the large, dim cell. Mike looked around the gloomy room. "I miss the bots!"

 _ **...to be continued...**_


	7. The Inside Story

Gypsy had managed to force open the locked footlocker with her head. The sound of splintering wood echoed loudly in the storage room, but it didn't draw any attention. The patrolling soldiers were all too far away to hear. Gypsy poked her head through the crudely formed escape hole and looked around the dimly lit room, her bright flashlight eye illuminated the room with an intense beam of yellow.

"Servo? Crow?" She called for her friends as she glanced about the dark room. "Where are you?"

"In here!" Crow responded as he banged his claw against the side of his box. "Help me!"

"I'm coming!" Gypsy honed in on the large footlocker a few feet away and put her big mouth on the strong lock and crushed it with impressive strength.

The lock fell away from the trunk and allowed Crow to push open the lid from the inside. "Thanks!"

"You're welcome!"

"Me next! Me next!" Tom called out. "I want out!"

Gypsy turned around and realized that Tom was locked in the footlocker behind her. "Roger!"

Crow climbed out of his box and approached the closed storage room door. He turned the knob but the door remained shut. "Locked!"

A loud 'crunch' echoed in the room as the second lock was broken away by Gypsy. "I'm on it!" She went for the door but was stopped by Tom.

"Wait Gyps'!" Tom's gumball machine head abruptly popped up and flung the lid of his box open. "If you break that lock they'll hear us for sure! We need to be stealthy, quiet, sneaky..."

Crow liked the sound of that. "Sneaky sounds fun!" He wrung his gold claws together anxiously. "How do we start?"

"Hmm..." Tom pondered the notion as she scanned the room. "I can't see a darn thing in this room! Gypsy, give us a sweep of the room, would ya'?"

"Right." Gypsy slowly shined her bright light across the floor of the room, illuminating and casting shadows on the various boxes, crates, cases and shelves that filled the room. She then lifted her light and scanned the walls and the ceiling. Something metallic on the ceiling glinted in the light.

"Hey, wait!" Tom had an idea. "Go back a little!"

Shining the light back in the direction Tom indicated Gypsy focused on the vent grate that leads into the air duct.

"A-ha!" Tom hovered up to the vent and peered through the grate. "It's big enough for all of us to get through! Let's move, move, move, bots! Go, go, go!"

* * *

Joel pulled his car to the side of the road a few yards away from a very large industrial looking building. He rolled down his window and stared at the ominous structure for a moment. "Here we are Cambot. Gizmonic Institute's storage facility. This place is more secretive than Area 51."

Cambot, who was dangerously low on power, didn't respond.

Joel put his hand on the small robot and patted softly. "Hang on buddy, I'll get you hooked up."

Pulling the car off the road and into a small clearing, Joel put the car in park and turned off the engine. He unfastened Cambot's seatbelt and carried the spherical robot to the hood of his car. "I'm going to hook you up to the car's battery, it should be able to give you enough power to function."

After carefully attaching the appropriate wires from Cambot to the battery Joel popped open the trunk of his car and began fumbling through the toolbox. He pulled out a flashlight and his old Gizmonic red jumpsuit. "Never thought I'd have to wear this again. Glad I held onto it. And got all the sand out of the pockets!"

Slipping the jumpsuit on over his jeans and Metallica t-shirt, Joel slipped the flashlight into the pocket and grabbed a small metal object from the back of the toolbox. To finish things off he also slipped on his thick black rimmed glasses, looking exactly as one would expect a Gizmonic employee should.

"Okay Cambot, I'm going inside. Don't move from this spot until you're at 100% power. Then I want you to enter the building through the building's exterior air ducts. Try to find Mike and the bots, but don't stay inside for more than an hour. I'll meet you back here."

With a small boost in his power Cambot had the strength to nod his body and chirp at Joel.

"Good boy! I'm going in..."

* * *

Mike was starting to fall asleep from pure exhaustion. Even the uncomfortable cot and cold cell wasn't enough to keep his asleep. He closed his eyes and tried to convince himself that the satellite falling out of orbit was all a dream. A really bad, really realistic, incredibly vivid and painful dream.

The door to his cell creaked open and Dr. Jones slipped back inside. "Hi."

"Hi." Mike was happy to see Dr. Jones' lovely face.

The doctor, with short dark hair and warm brown eyes sat on the edge of Mike's cot and smiled. "How do you feel?"

"Usually with my hands." He quipped.

She laughed at the lame joke. "C'mon Mr. Nelson, be serious."

"Only if you call me Mike."

"Okay, Mike," Dr. Jones couldn't help but grin at Mike's overall kind demeanor, even in the face of danger. "how are you feeling?"

"Lousy."

"Headache?"

"No, it's passed believe it or not."

"What about your other injuries? Need something for the pain?"

"Nope. Those weird little pill things are still working."

"Tired?"

"Very. But that's not why I feel bad."

"Hungry?"

"No- well... a little."

"Here." She slipped a candy bar from her pocket. "I brought this for you."

"Chocolate! Thanks, you're a great doctor." Mike slowly sat upright on his cot, Dr. Jones helped him to move by supporting his shoulders and neck. "Thanks again."

Dr. Jones shook her head. "You know, you don't seem like the crazy, satellite hi-jacking, saboteur, terrorist, 'MacGuyver wannabe' my higher-ups are saying you are."

"Cuz I'm not."

"I believe you."

"Just curious, what do I seem like to you?"

Dr. Jones blushed a little. "You act more like a game show host."

"' _Ghostbusters_ '! I love that movie."

"So do I!" Dr. Jones suddenly looked away from Mike, not wanting to become too friendly with the seemingly doomed man.

Mike read her expression perfectly. "I take it you still can't help me, right?"

"Right." She sympathetically patted his leg. "I'm here to treat your injuries. Not act as a character witness."

"Well..." Mike crumpled up the empty candy wrapper. "will you at least let me tell you my story?"

"Story? Not excuse?" She smiled playfully. "This wasn't some macho fratboy dare, was it?"

"I wish." Mike rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "So... want to know what _really_ happened?"

* * *

Moving quickly but calmly Joel made his way across the lengthy parking lot of the secret building and toward the enigmatic structure. Multiple armed guards were posted outside the main entrance of the building, while four soldiers patrolled the perimeter. Ducking behind large vehicles and using the shadows to his advantage, Joel maneuvered to the rear of the building where only a single guard was posted.

Joel leaned against a large transport truck parked nearby as he began mentally rehearsing his story to the guard. Just as Joel was about to step out from behind the truck and approach the lone guard, a second guard appeared and whispered something to the first guard. Kneeling low to ensure he was completely in the shadows, Joel did his best to read the lips of the two dialoguing guards.

 _'Weird...'_ Joel thought to himself.

The two guards began laughing and actually walked away from the door and toward the front of the building together.

 _'Perfect!_ ' Joel stealthily made his way to the exposed door and pulled the small metal object from his pocket. The door's security was not as advanced as the main entrance, leaving only a deadbolt as the bulk of the security. Using the sharp metal device Joel easily, almost expertly, picked the lock. He used the cuff of his sleeve to cover his hand and finger prints as he opened the door, slipping inside the building unnoticed.

Making sure to cover his tracks and keep his presence undetected, Joel made sure to lock the door behind him. "Like I was never even here..."

The rear of the building had virtually no sign of human life, let alone _robots_! Using his experience as a former Gizmonic Institute custodian, Joel grabbed a cleaning cart used by the _actual_ staff and wheeled it down the hall, hoping that no one would look twice at just another face in a red jumpsuit.

"Hang on guys. Help is here."

 _ **...to be continued...**_


	8. Hello!

Tom Servo, Crow and Gypsy were awkwardly crawling along together through the dark, dusty ventilation duct. Tom led the way with Crow following close and Gypsy bringing up the rear. Her singular flashlight eye was able to shine ahead of the trio, producing just the right amount of light to guide the traversing trio as they crawled through the labyrinthine ventilation ducts.

Tom had taken the liberty of humming the theme song from _'Mission Impossible'_ , which of course quickly lost its charm after twenty consecutive minutes.

"Servo..." Crow was losing his patience. "Servo?"

Tom didn't pay any attention to Crow as he continued to hum to himself.

"Servo?!"

Tom continued humming the cliché theme song, completely ignoring Crow.

"Servo!" Crow yelled then promptly bit the edge of Servo's hover skirt.

"OUCH!" Tom stopped humming and crawling. "No biting!"

"No humming!"

"What's your problem 'pin-beak'?"

"Your incessant singing _and_ your _butt_ in my _face_ 'bubble-head'!"

"What's the matter Crow? Jealous? Do you envy my beautiful butt?"

"Bite me!"

"Why don't you lick me?"

Gypsy had enough of the bickering. "Hey, you two! Quit fighting!" She pushed her head further up and between the two arguing bots. "We need to work together to find Mike."

"Okay, okay..." Tom agreed. "Let's keep moving."

"Fine." Crow leaned up to Tom and whispered. _'YOU lick ME_!'

* * *

"Wow..." Dr. Jones listened intently as Mike told her all the details about his time trapped in space aboard the Satellite of Love. "That's quite a story Mike."

"Tell me about. It's also a _true_ story!"

"Uh-huh." She crossed her arms and gave him a bemused look.

"What? It is!"

"I read that book series, too. Granted it's not a very popular series, but I think it has poten-"

"Book series? _What_ book series?" Mike didn't understand what she was talking about.

"Seriously? _'The Not Too Distant Future_...' by Jo-"

"I swear to you this is the _truth_! I'm not making it up! Why would I?"

"Mike," Dr. Jones put her hand in a comforting manner on his shoulder. "I believe that you're a good guy and that you're not a threat to anyone. But..."

"But?" Mike urged her to continue after she trailed off.

"Being shot into space by a couple of supposed 'mad scientists', just to watch bad movies every week? And then living with robots and communicating with aliens and monsters and monkeys... It's just... Impossible."

" _Improbable_." Mike corrected. "Why would I make something like this up?"

"I don't know. Why would anyone shoot anyone else into space?"

"I don't know." Mike sighed and laid back down on his cot. "Will you at least try to convince the higher-up's that I'm not a bad guy? Please?"

"I'll try. But I don't think my word will carry much weight. Mr. White is a very stubborn, powerful, scary and sometimes smelly man."

"Smelly?" Mike laughed.

"He smokes. ALOT."

* * *

Pushing the cleaning cart ahead of himself Joel was able to stroll casually through the halls of the enigmatic, and security riddled structure. No one gave Joel, just another face in a red jumpsuit, a second look as he calmly wandered through the building. Inconspicuously Joel checked each door he passed, taking note of which doors were locked, unlocked and required a passcode to enter.

It didn't take him long to locate the cell in which Mike was being held captive. There was only one door that was being guarded at all times. A door at the end of a long, dark hallway located on the 13th floor of the building.

Joel noted the time on his watch. "Twenty minutes until Cambot makes his way into the building. Hope the little guy can find the bots or Mike without being spotted."

To avoid suspicion Joel made sure to stop and sweep the floors or wash some windows. All the while he was mentally surveying the layout of the building and counting the patrolling security guards.

"Man, they really beefed up security since I last worked here. Guess they take satellite theft seriously!"

* * *

"Hm..." Tom paused and looked back and forth between the two options from the now forked intersection of the vents. "Left or right?"

Crow uncomfortable pushed himself up closer to Tom. "I say... Left!"

"Then I say right!"

"Contrarian!"

Tom just made a 'fart noise' in place of an actual response.

Gypsy offered a third option. "Why don't you two split up to look ahead, then meet back here?"

"Because we can't split up!" Tom argued. "We already lost Mike and Cambot, we can't afford to lose each other!"

"Yeah, I guess you're right..." Gypsy agreed sadly. "Then, I'll be the tie breaker. "Left!"

"HA!" Crow pointed and laughed in Tom's face. "Put that in your dome and smoke it!"

Tom made another 'fart noise'.

"C'mon." Gypsy urged. "Let's keep moving."

Crow led the way down the vent, his slender body was able to maneuver through the tight space easily. Tom hovered close behind, careful to not get kicked in the face by Crow's feet or accidentally block Gypsy's light.

"Sh!" Crow suddenly paused and held up his claw to signal his companions to stop. "I hear something!" He whispered.

"What?" Tom whispered back.

"I think I can hear Mike!" Crow crawled a little further down the vent and peered through the grate on the 'floor' of the ventilation shaft.

Through the thin bars Crow was able to peer through and see Mike laying on a cot below. Dr. Jones still sitting with him.

"Crow?" Tom quietly hovered next to the golden robot. "What is it? Did you find him?"

"Yeah! And he's with a _lady_..."

"Is she pretty?"

"Well yeah, I think so. I mean, she's no Mamie Van Doren, but as far as I can tell she is WAY out of Mike's league!"

"Let me see!" Tom crowded Crow so he could peer the through the grate too.

"Watch it!"

Gypsy pushed herself closer to the grate as well. "I want to see!"

"Easy! Get back!" Crow cautioned. "I think you may be too heavy, Gyps'."

* * *

Mike had continued to explain to Dr. Jones everything that happened, insisting that it was the truth and that he wasn't a crazy criminal. "Look, I understand why you don't believe me. I couldn't believe it myself for the longest time. I kept trying to convince myself that I was sick and hallucinating the entire thing, but there came a point where I couldn't deny it any longer."

"Mike..." Dr. Jones smiled at her goofball patient. "It's not that I don't want to believe you, it's just... How can you prove it? I mean, surely someone must know you're a victim and not a terrorist."

"There is someone..." He immediately thought of Joel. "But I don't want him to get dragged into this mess. He's a nice guy. In fact, he was the one who built the robots who became my friends. And it was because I helped him escape the satellite that I was sent up. You know, to replace him in the experiment."

"Well..." Dr. Jones, still willing to listen to Mike, offered an interesting solution. "Then maybe these robots can back up your story? Where are they?"

"I'm not-"

A loud creaking of metal echoed in the cell as the ventilation grate above suddenly buckled from too much weight and gave way.

Three robots came falling through the grate, out of the vent and directly onto Mike. "OW!"

Dr. Jones stood up quickly and backed away from the bundle of metal and coil. "What the?!"

Crow poked his head up from the jumbled mess on Mike and the cot. "Hello!" He sang.

Tom appeared next to Crow and joined him. "Hello!"

Gypsy's head appeared next as she joined the duet creating a trio of song. "Hello!"

"Hello!" The three sang together.

"Uh..." Dr. Jones couldn't believe what she was seeing. "Mike? Are these...? Are you...?"

Mike pushed the three robots off his body and onto the floor. "Yes and no." He was rubbing his aching head. "I could use some more painkillers, now..."

 _ **...to be continued...**_


	9. Reunited

Dr. Jones stood in curious awe and fascination at the incredible sight before her. Three sentient and unique robots, of which were huddled around Mike out of fear, proved that Mike's story was in fact _real_!

"These are the... robots?" Dr. Jones asked with a slight chuckle in her voice.

"Yes." Mike answered feeling relieved for the first time in a LONG time. "This is Crow," he put his hand on Crow's net as the gold robot waved shyly. "this is Tom Servo," he patted Tom's dome. "and this is Gypsy." Mike patted her purple nose.

"H-hi." Dr. Jones stammered as she slowly approached the cot. "Mike... this is incredible! How did you manage to create them?"

"I didn't." He reminded her. "They were already onboard the satellite when I was conked on the noggin' and shot aboard."

"If _you_ didn't build them, who did?"

Crow was more than happy to answer the question. "Oh, we were built by-"

Mike quickly grabbed Crow's beak with one hand and held it shut. "Sh! Don't get him involved, this is messy enough as it is!"

There was a loud rapping against the locked cell door. "Dr. Jones? What's going on in there? We heard a crash!"

Scared Mike and the bots froze and turned toward the locked door.

Dr. Jones answered calmly. "The grate in the air vent came loose."

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." She tried to sound more confident and less rattled. "We're both fine. Just a little startled by the noise. It's okay."

The guard didn't ask anymore questions and the group breathed a collective sigh of relief.

Tom looked at the quick witted doctor. "Thanks!"

"You're welcome. But now we have a new problem."

Mike adjusted himself on the cot, the weight of the robots now hurting his already injured body. "What's that?"

"How do we explain the robots suddenly appearing in your locked cell?"

"Uh..." Mike looked at her dumbly. "I don't know..."

* * *

Joel continued to act as a nonchalant, completely indifferent custodian as he surveyed the secured building. Walking toward an isolated backroom Joel loosened a grate on an overhead ventilation duct. "C'mon Cambot. I know you'll find me."

* * *

Cambot, following Joel's instructions, waited an hour as his power steadily recharged. Finally at full power Cambot hovered through the air, across the parking lot and found the exterior opening of the ventilation system of the secured building.

His small body easily fit through the wide opening. Being able to hover meant Cambot didn't make a sound as he maneuvered through the vents. He never stopped recording as he traveled the dim ducts.

Cambot spied an opening in the floor of the vent and peered through. He saw Joel standing in the room below, staring patiently at his watch.

Hovering down Cambot squeaked happily at Joel.

"Cambot, there you are. Feeling better?"

Cambot nodded and his lowered himself to Joel's eye level.

"Good. Look over here." Joel motioned for Cambot to follow. "See this opened window? It's wide enough for everyone to fit through and isolated enough to keep anyone from seeing you guys escaping. Find the others and bring them to this window. I'll make sure no one enters this room and you'll make a clean get-away."

Cambot nodded again. Just before he hovered back into the vent he returned to Joel and nudged his arm.

"It's okay Cambot. I'll get out without anyone noticing a thing. I'll use the door, no one will pay any attention to a custodian."

Cambot nudged him again, not happy with the idea of being separated.

"I know what you want buddy, but... it'd be best for everyone if the others didn't know I was here."

Cambot let out a surprised squeak.

"Easy! It's just... things are already so complicated that the last thing they'll need is someone else getting involved. Look, show them the way out but don't tell them I was here. It'll be our little secret, okay?"

Cambot nodded, slower this time.

"All you have to do is show the footage of our time trapped aboard the satellite and all the communications between us and Deep 13. That's all the evidence they'll need to prove their innocence and Dr. Forrester's guilt."

Cambot didn't hover into the vents still. He didn't want to leave Joel.

"Look little guy, we won't be apart forever. I promise. We'll all be a family again someday. But for now we have to wait. Mike will want to see his family and friends again, and I know he'll want to make sure you guys are going to be okay. And you know if you need anything you can contact me, right?"

Once again Cambot nodded.

"Good boy. Now please, go. Find the others!"

Cambot finally hovered back into the vents and out of sight.

Joel watched sadly as the robot disappeared silently. He exited the isolated room and locked the door from the outside. He put up a sign indicating that the room was closed off due to a hazardous spill to ensure no one tried to get inside. "I promise." He repeated to himself. "I won't let you down."

* * *

Mike and the bots huddled together on the cot in a fearful confusion. "Dr. Jones?" Mike spoke up like a scared child. "Will they... will the goons who took us because they think we're criminals, will they... hurt the robots?"

Dr. Jones heard the sincerity in Mike's voice and realized how much Mike cared for the odd machines. "I'm... I'm not sure. As far as I know they think the robots are merely inanimate objects, not functioning beings. They'll use the robots as evidence against you."

"Oh no." Mike felt his heart sink and wrapped his arm around the robots as much as he could. "We can't let them take the bots! We can't!"

"I know Mike and I agree. But what can we do?" Dr. Jones didn't want to see a good man wrongfully locked away.

* * *

As Cambot traveled through the vents he heard muffled but familiar voices echoing through the vents. Following the voices he came across another opening in the floor of the vents. Peeking down he spotted Mike and the others all sitting together in the cell below.

Hovering down Cambot spun around in midair in front of Mike and let out a happy squeak.

"Cambot!" Mike grabbed the spherical bot with his good hand held him. "Man, I'm SO happy to see you!"

" _Another_ one?" Dr. Jones commented.

"Yeah, this is Cambot. He's not much of a talker but he's a great listener!"

"Cambot, as in he's a camera-robot?"

"Yup."

"So... he recorded your captivity onboard the satellite?"

"Yeah, every second. Even before I was-" Mike trailed off as he figured out what Dr. Jones was hinting toward. "Oh... Damn you're smart. Glad you're on our side!"

 _ **...to be continued...**_


	10. Unexpected Help

Mike was sitting awkwardly on his cot as he struggled to open the visual display screen installed in Cambot's side. The small spherical robot didn't struggle or even squeak as he patiently awaited for Mike to stop fiddling around with his systems.

"Um, Mike?" Crow wisely interjected. "Do you know what you're doing?"

"Sure, it's just like programming a VCR."

"You know _how_ to program a VCR?"

"Well... no. I never actually figured out-"

Tom butted in and pushed Cambot out of Mike's grip. "Would you stop! Cambot's been through enough, he doesn't need you hands of death all over him!"

"Hey!" Mike protested feeling offended. "I think 'hands of death' is a little-"

"What? Harsh? Extreme?" Tom sarcastically offered.

"What about... TRUE?" Crow joined in. "Mister 'Destroyer of Worlds'!"

"Hey! Well... okay, yeah. Fair enough..."

Dr. Jones didn't understand what was going. She was having a difficult enough time comprehending the four robots that were suddenly in the cell and clearly bonded as friends with Mike. "Can I help?" She finally asked, more confused than anything else.

"Uh..."

Gypsy spoke up. "Sure! Just press that button right there on Cambot's side."

Cambot hovered over to Dr. Jones and allowed her to hold him. "This button here, the blue one?"

"Yup!"

"Okay, here we go." Dr. Jones pressed the button and a descent sized view screen folded down from Cambot's side. The display was initially black, but once Cambot began to playback the recorded feed the screen filled with vibrant and bizarre images. "Wow..."

Dr. Jones was entranced by the footage as it ran backward at a fast pace. She caught brief glimpses of a kind looking, goateed young man in a red jumpsuit, but before she could ask about him the footage displayed the wreckage of the Satellite of Love, and the horrific crash that preceded it.

* * *

Joel inconspicuously positioned himself outside of the room he falsely labeled as inaccessible. Using a broom Joel kept himself busy sweeping the floors while keeping an ear open for any sign that maybe Mike was going to be taken away or that the bots had been discovered.

The two guards positioned outside of Mike's cell were speaking in low voices to one another, surely discussing the crashing sound of the vent grate, when Mr. White; the dark suited man who orchestrated Mike's capture, approached the patrolling duo.

"Report." He demanded in a deep, agitated voice.

"Sir, a vent grate had fallen and crashed on the floor." The first guard responded quickly.

"You've confirmed this?"

The second guard answered. "Dr. Jones was in the cell at the time of the crash, she is the one who informed us."

"But you didn't check the situation and confirm the status yourself?"

"Uh, no. Negative."

"Morons!" Mr. White reprimanded the inexperienced and lax guards. He motioned for them to stand aside so he could enter the cell himself.

Joel had overheard the scolding from the relative safety of the distant room, far down the hall from Mike's cell. Thinking quickly Joel reached over and pulled the nearby emergency fire alarm on the wall.

Red, flashing lights and sirens began blaring overhead as the sprinkler system automatically engaged and began dowsing all the rooms and all the hallways on the floors with cool water. Joel laughed a little to himself. _'We've got Movie Sign!_ '

Mr. White looked up angrily at the overhead sprinklers and swore out loud. "Son of a..." He turned his attention back to the lazy and startled guards. "You two, go find out what's happened and find out who pulled that damn alarm!"

"Sir!" The two guards marched off down the hall, becoming lost in the swarm of scattering scientists, engineers and other guards who were trying to shield themselves from the water while making their way to the front door of the building.

Soaked from the sudden deluge of the sprinkler system, Joel calmly and casually blended in with the rest of the crowd and easily slipped outside of the building unnoticed. After all he was just another face in a (wet) red jumpsuit.

* * *

From inside the cell Mike, Dr. Jones and the bots were trying to figure out what was happening. A single sprinkled overhead was more than enough to completely drench the small area in uncomfortably cool water.

"Mike!" The bots all whined together. "What's happening _now_?!"

"I'm not doing it!" Mike whined back, his good arm shielding his eyes from the torrent of water.

Dr. Jones tried to keep things calm as she tucked Cambot protectively under her white coat. "It's the fire alarm. Some joker must be playing a childish prank!"

"Or an ally!" Mike suggested. "Maybe that 'Robby' guy is trying to help us."

"Maybe."

Crow was very irritated. "Mike, I can't stand this! I'm wet, I'm cold and you smell terrible when you're wet! Like a dog or something..."

"You guys need to get out of this water before it damages your circuits." Mike suddenly realized. "Get back into the vent, you should be safe up there."

"Right!"

Tom hovered up and into the vent first. Gypsy gave Crow a lift with her nose and he in turn helped pull her up into the vent after him. Mike pushed her coil body up and out of the room as quickly as he could.

The three bots looked down from the vent and back into the cell below. "Mike?" Tom called out worried. "You coming?"

"I'm not going to fit in there! And even if I could, I'd be too heavy, and even I wasn't I wouldn't be able to move with my broken arm! And ankle! And ribs!"

"Geez Mike, you're so negative sometimes."

Cambot let out a squeak to indicate that he had finished compiling the footage. A small data disc was ejected from his side.

Dr. Jones took the disc and slipped it protectively into her pocket.

Cambot then hovered out of her grip and into the vents after his waterlogged brethren.

"Mike," Dr. Jones sat on the cot wrapped her arm around his side and helped him. "if we don't get out of here, too, the guards will _know_ something is up!"

"But what about..." Mike looked up sadly at the four bots in the vent overhead.

Dr. Jones was insistent but calm. "I get the feeling that Cambot already has a plan. They'll be fine."

Cambot let out an optimistic squeak from the vent.

Reluctantly Mike agreed to leave the cell and without the bots. As Dr. Jones helped him to his feet, he gave one last order to his beloved robot friends above. "You four stick together, no matter what! Cambot, you're in charge until we're all together again."

"Awwww!" Tom and Crow whined in unison. "Not Cambot!"

"YES, Cambot!" Mike reaffirmed. "Now, Dr. Jones, if you wouldn't mind?"

"Lean on me."

In a very clumsy but effective manner, Dr. Jones and Mike exited the cell while the robots ducked away inside the dim vent.

 _ **...to be continued...**_


	11. Leaving

Unwilling to leave Mike alone with the trigger-happy private soldiers of Mr. White, Dr. Jones proceeded to walk through the vacant, wet, loud and bright hallway of the building with Mike leaning heavily against her. A soldier who had been sent to clear each room of the building spotted Dr. Jones with the prisoner and glared with a false sense of authority.

Running toward the good doctor the soldier eyed Mike bitterly. "Doctor, why didn't you evacuate with everyone else?"

Stopping in the hall Dr. Jones wiped short, dark strands of her damp hair from her face. "I'm a doctor _first_ and a 'Gizmonic Scientist' second. I wasn't going to leave my patient behind."

Mike relaxed a little knowing that Dr. Jones was clearly on his side. It was nice to have an ally instead of _another_ enemy.

The soldier subtly aimed his gun at Mike. "What's this prisoner's crime?"

"His only crime was working for Gizmonic Institute. He's a _victim,_ not a criminal."

"Yeah!" Mike defended boldly. "I'm innocent!"

The soldier was visibly unimpressed. "I don't care. You two, follow me." He turned and walked at a brisk pace as he escorted the final two occupants of the building outside with the rest of the usual patrons.

"Thanks." Mike whispered to Dr. Jones. "I owe you one."

"Just one?" She teased warmly.

"Okay... two!"

* * *

Back in the dim but safe vents Crow, Tom and Gypsy followed Cambot as the spherical robot led the way to the isolated room set up by Joel.

"Are we there yet?" Tom whined.

Cambot shook his body left and right to signal 'no'.

"Are we there yet?" Crow repeated.

Cambot again answered 'no'.

"Are we there yet?" Tom asked again.

Gypsy decided to answer on Cambot's behalf. "NO. Stop asking!"

"Sorry..." Tom whimpered. Gypsy could be scary when she was angry!

Taking a turn down the vents Cambot squeaked and called out to his brethren to join him. Tom and Crow turned down the vent and spotted Cambot hovering over an opening in the vent, leading down into the empty room below.

Gypsy poked her head around the corner and between Tom and Crow. "Cambot, is this where we need to go?"

Cambot nodded to signal 'yes'.

Cautiously Crow poked his head down through the vent, like an upside down periscope, and looked around in all directions. "It's clear!" Crow then pulled himself back up and slid his legs down through the hole, dropping down onto the floor with a small splash. "Yuck! It's wet in here, too! Watch it!" Crow yelled over the still blaring alarm

Tom hovered down. "Well, at least the sprinklers have been shut off."

Gypsy dropped down with a heavy, graceless splash on top of both Crow and Tom. "Ouch! Mommy..."

"Sorry..." Gypsy pulled herself up from the ground and off her 'little brothers'.

Cambot hovered down at last and moved over to the large opened window. He squeaked and motioned for the others to follow.

"Good idea Cambot!" Gypsy praised. "Let's boogie!"

Crow and Gypsy clambered up to the window crawling over storage crates, boxes and large trunks while Tom and Cambot easily hovered up and out through the window. The two were waiting for the others on the other side of the window.

"Hurry up!" Tom pestered.

"Cram it Servo!" Crow eloquently responded.

* * *

Outside the building Joel easily disappeared into the crowd of gathered evacuated employees, scientists, doctors and soldiers. No one gave Joel a second look, hell, they didn't even give him a first look!

From the safety of the huddled, wet masses Joel watched the front door of the building patiently. At long last he saw Mike exiting the building with Dr. Jones at his side and a soldier leading the way.

"Good. He's out." Joel said out loud to himself.

Moving casually toward the last two evacuating patrons, Joel positioned himself close enough to Mike and Dr. Jones to hear what was going on without being noticed by any suspicious soldiers, or Mr. White, himself.

"Sit here." Dr. Jones helped Mike to sit on the bumper of a parked truck. She put her hand to the side of his face. "You're cold. The last thing you need is hypothermia, I'll find you a blanket."

"Hold it." Mr. White approached Dr. Jones and Mike with a embittered glare. "You _two_ aren't going anywhere."

Joel overheard the command and was ready to intervene if necessary.

* * *

Finally outside the building the four robots huddled together under a large truck and scanned the deserted parking lot fearfully.

"Crow! I'm scared..." Tom admitted as he pressed up against Crow's body.

"Me too!" Crow wrapped his arm around Tom. "Don't ever let go buddy!"

"Shh!" Gypsy shushed them. "We have to be quiet. Cambot, can you find Mike?"

The small robot hovered out from under the truck and high into the air. He spied Mike and Dr. Jones on the other side of the building. He nodded at the others before hovering off toward his human friend.

* * *

"Dr. Jones," Mr. White was impatient and very angry. "it appears as though you are aiding the possible escape of a prisoner. A prisoner who is accused of a most heinous crime. Now give me one good reason why I shouldn't-"

Dr. Jones put herself between Mike and Mr. White, she crossed her arms defensively. "No, _you_ give _me_ one good reason to not expose you _and_ your secrets to the world!"

"Pardon?" Mr. White remained angry as a soldier stood behind him, his gun at the ready.

"I know about your little scheme. About the Satellite of Love and how you knowingly employed a mentally unstable scientist to conduct mind control experiments."

Mr. White swallowed nervously but remained steadfast. "You know nothing."

"I have footage."

"Footage?" Mr. White didn't believe her. "You're bluffing."

"If I'm bluffing then that means it's _possible_ that such footage does exist, doesn't it?"

Mike grinned mischievously at the doctor. "You're so busted, buddy!"

Joel also listened in as Dr. Jones defended Mike's reputation as a good man and NOT a domestic, satellite-jacking terrorist.

"Look, Mr. White," Dr. Jones continued. "I won't say anything and I won't expose anything as long as you leave Mike alone. He's a good man and doesn't deserve to be your pariah. He's been through enough. Also, consider this my resignation. I can't be a descent doctor when I'm employed by an indecent man."

"Go girl!" Mike praised.

Mr. White whispered to the soldier at his side. Nodding, the soldier returned to the building. "Very well Dr. Jones, your resignation has been accepted. You and Mr. Nelson here will leave these premises and never return. If I catch _either_ of you on Gizmonic property I will have you arrested. Clear?"

"Crystal!" Mike blurted. "So, uh... can we go?"

"Yes." Mr. White snarled. "Move."

Awkwardly Dr. Jones and Mike walked from the truck to her own car parked on the other side of the building. Cambot, still hovering above and watching, returned to the others and hid under the truck along with them.

"Doctor?" Mike asked sheepishly. "I owe you _three_!"

She laughed at the sweet remark. "Well, I hate keeping score. Why don't you take me to a movie and we'll call it even?"

"M-movie?" Mike stammered. "Sure... I guess."

Joel, who had secretly been listening in as Mike and Dr. Jones walked away from the diabolical Mr. White, the enigmatic building and all the lingering scandal; just smiled. "Glad Mike's safe. I hope the bots got out, too."

 _ **...to be continued...**_


	12. Home At Last

Dr. Jones helped Mike over to her car, the whole trek was long and felt creepy. Mike kept looking over his shoulder for any sign of the corrupt soldiers following them or Mr. White sneaking up behind them with a weapon. She helped Mike to the passenger side of her white car.

"Uh... where are we going?" Mike asked as Dr. Jones fumbled with her car keys.

"I'm going to take you to a nearby hospital. I used to work there so they'll help us without asking alot of questions." She unlocked her car. "Okay, slide in."

"Not yet. I can't leave without the bots!" Mike reminded her as he opened his door and leaned on it.

"Are they close?"

"I don't know. I'm not sure where they could've-" Mike was suddenly knocked down on the ground by four clambering, crying robots. "Never mind..."

Dr. Jones walked around to the other side of her car and watched as Mike struggled to sit up. "Are they all here?"

"Yup."

Crow was wrapped around Mike's chest and whimpering. "Mike! It was so scary! It was dark and wet and loud, and then Servo and Cambot left me and Gypsy alone in the building while they taunted us from the parking lot, and I want my chicken puppet!"

"Shhh..." Mike instinctively shushed the robot. "It's okay."

Dr. Jones was getting nervous now. "You guys, as touching as this moment is, maybe you should get in the car before anyone sees you."

"Great idea!" Mike agreed. "Gypsy climb in the backseat."

"Okay..." Clumsily Gypsy 'slithered' over Mike and into the backseat of the car, climbing over the front seats in the process.

"Now, Crow, you're turn." Mike pried Crow's grip from his chest.

Tom hovered into the front passenger seat as soon as Crow fell into the backseat and sat next to Gypsy on the floor. "Shotgun!"

"No." Mike pulled himself up from the ground and into the seat, pushing Tom aside in the process. "Backseat."

"Fine..." Tom begrudgingly joined the others on the floor.

"Cambot?" Mike motioned for the smaller, more graceful bot to enter the vehicle.

Dr. Jones returned to her side of the car and sat behind the wheel. She turned the ignition and looked in the backseat. "Everyone accounted for?"

"Yup." The bots answered in unison.

She looked over at Mike. "You okay?"

"Aside from the crash landing, the blunt force trauma, kidnapping, threats, impromptu shower and being tackled to the ground, I'm good." He smiled dumbly at the attractive doctor.

She just shook her head and laughed. "Okay, good. Let's get the hell out of here!"

* * *

Joel, who was still milling about in the evacuated masses of employees, watched as the white car with Mike and Dr. Jones pulled out of the parking lot and toward the road. He watched with bated breath, unsure if he should be happy or worried, until he saw Cambot pop up from the backseat. The spherical bot spotted Joel and nodded his body.

Relieved Joel let out his breath and nodded back as the car drove down the road and out of sight into the dark night. "Good boy Cambot." Joel looked down at his watch and pressed a small red button on the side. A small digital map appeared on the display and a small green reticle moved in perfect synchronization with the car. "I knew you'd find the others. Glad the tracking device is still working."

With his secret rescue a success Joel subtly left the group of employees and returned to his own car parked in the shadows across the street. "Mission accomplished. See you soon, guys. I hope..."

* * *

From the top floor of the enigmatic building Mr. White had been angrily watching the employees down below in the parking lot. He too took notice of Dr. Jones and Mike leaving in the white car.

"Bring me the evidence retrieved from the wreckage of the Satellite of Love." He bitterly ordered his personal guard.

"Sir..." The guard hesitantly spoke up. "It appears as though the evidence has been... misplaced."

"WHAT?!" Mr. White turned on his heels and glared at the honest guard. "What the HELL are you talking about?!"

"The evidence in question cannot be located. The footlockers in which the three objects were contained have been broken and the objects are now missing."

"HOW?..." Mr. White was beyond angry. "Who is responsible?"

"Unknown. The security footage doesn't show anyone entering the storage room after the evidence was secured within. There are no suspects."

"Don't give me that incompetent answer! The evidence couldn't have gotten up and walked away on its own!"

"Well..."

"No." Mr. White held up his hand to silence his guard's open minded answer before he could finish. "They were bizarre contraptions built from Gizmonic parts, nothing more and nothing less."

"Then... why are they important?"

"They PROVE that someone was living aboard the satellite for years. Without them we can't prove that the satellite was _stolen;_ and not actually launched for a mind control experiment."

"Wait... what? Sir, did I hear you correctly?"

Mr. White angry slammed his fist against the wall. "No, solider. You heard nothing."

* * *

Mike and Dr. Jones walked into the hospital so Mike could a full exam. The bots were left alone in the backseat of the car, a blanket thrown over them to keep them concealed from possible prying eyes who walked by the parked vehicle. The bots were also give large amounts of snacks to keep them preoccupied while Mike and Dr. Jones were inside.

"So..." Mike asked casually as Dr. Jones and her friend, Dr. Smith, looked over his test results. "Am I good to go?"

"Everything looks good." Dr. Jones smiled. "The stitches can be removed in two weeks and the cast can come off in six."

"Great!" Mike was relived. "But... uh... since I've been, you know, 'away', where do I go from here?"

Dr. Jones smiled again. "I have more contacts than you'll ever know. I think I can help you get set up in a descent apartment in a quiet town."

"Perfect! Now I owe you four!"

"No, just the movie. And maybe dinner."

"Sure, but, uh... I don't even know your name!"

She extended her hand to properly introduce herself at last to Mike. "I'm Bridget."

* * *

After a nice date with Bridget, with another surely on the way, and receiving word that _someone_ anonymously released footage of the corrupt nature of 'Gizmonic Institute' shutting the company down for good, not to mention a few weeks of discreetly moving from one location to another; Mike and the bots finally found themselves living in a comfortable apartment.

Crow and Tom and Cambot were sitting together on the couch watching the TV. It was Cambot's last night with the guys before he went to work with Gypsy so they decided to have a good old fashioned movie night.

Mike was in the kitchen making a snack while the bots waited for him. In Tom's small inarticulate hands he held a booklet with the latest updates on 'ConGypsCo.' and its stocks.

"Boy, oh boy! This 'ConGypsCo.' stock is up! I mean WAY up!"

From the kitchen Mike heard Tom's statement. "Well, Gypsy did want to let us in on her public offering, but we said 'no'."

Crow interjected. "Well, if you remember _I_ made a 'fart noise'. She only took it as a 'no'!"

Mike walked over to the couch with a bowl in his hands. "Well, still, it all worked out. I mean, we were very fortunate to walk away from that crash! And I guess if we were all multi-billionaires, you guys wouldn't have moved in with me!"

Crow agreed. "True."

Tom was more optimistic. "Yeah, that's right. Sweet garden-level living, one bedroom, one half-bath _and_ on the bus lines!"

Crow replied with an upbeat. "Suuuuu-Weeet!"

Mike grinned and held his bowl out. "Hey, who's for rice?"

Crow gave Mike a stern look. "Would you sit down? The movie's about to start!"

Tom joined Crow. "Come here, dummy!"

Mike quickly moved around to the front of the couch and sat in the middle between the two bots. Cambot took his usual place hovering behind the trio and watching the film from over their shoulders.

The male TV announcer proudly declared the title of the film in a low voice: _'WTMJ-in Milwaukee presents our Saturday afternoon movie_ : "The Crawling Eye"'.

Tom instinctively riffed on the title. "The Crawling Eye: the Marty Feldman story!"

Mike joined in as he read the names in the opening credits. "Oh, Forest Tucker. He's the guy who makes sure the tree's shirt tales are in."

Crow had his own interesting thought as the film progressed. "This movie looks kind of familiar, doesn't it?"

 _ **-The End**_


End file.
